We are packing this evening in preparation to head to the airport early tomorrow morning. We cannot wait to get home to see all of you (especially the boys) and to introduce Laikyn to all of you. Speaking of the boys (all parents like to talk about their kids, right), we are very proud of them and of all the reports we have gotten back on how they are doing. We love them all very much and are honored to be their parents (yes, I understand that they will pull this blog out sometime in the next couple of months when they do something that may not make us so proud). It is fun to watch them grow and begin to mature. Every year brings with it new challenges, but also new enjoyment as we watch their character develop. I asked Tyler to really step up while we were away and help his grandparents with his younger brothers and from the reports we have received, he has done exactly that (hopefully those reports were accurate and no one was just trying to make us feel better about being thousand miles away).
Other notes: Laikyn took her first trip to a zoo and enjoyed it. We also went to the US consulate today to take the oath and get her visa (so it is official). Also, China does not allow any social websites like blogspot, face book, etc. So, my sister has been kind enough to take our entries and post them to the blog and then send the comments back to us via e-mail. I say that to thank her and also to let you know if there were any grammatical errors, then they were probably her fault.
We hope to see you all soon.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
September 23 - In Motion
One of the not so comfortable parts of this trip has been the constant motion:
- Seven flights-over 16,000 miles (34 hours in the air)
- Over 20 bus trips in very congested, stop and go traffic (some with poor air conditioning)
- One dinner cruise up and down the Pearl River
- Countless hours walking
Dramamine is a must for the those who have the potential to get motion sickness.
- Seven flights-over 16,000 miles (34 hours in the air)
- Over 20 bus trips in very congested, stop and go traffic (some with poor air conditioning)
- One dinner cruise up and down the Pearl River
- Countless hours walking
Dramamine is a must for the those who have the potential to get motion sickness.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
September 22nd - Honest Questions
While shopping today, we went into a little shop and spoke to the female owner for over 1/2 hour. Here is an excerpt from that conversation(shop owner's words):
You adopt this baby?
Did you know special needs?
Did they not send you a picture first?
And, you still came here to get this baby, why?
Do you have other children?
Do they have any disabilities?
Then why adopt her...why not have your own beautiful girl without problem with mouth?
You know I do not think they will never be able to fix her mouth.
You cannot send her to school in US, can you?
Here in China, she would not go to school.
In China, she would never find husband, never get any land, etc.
Some people from U.S. are crazy.
Believe it or not, we enjoyed this conversation and for actually having the opportunity to answer some of the questions that I am sure many of the people we pass on the street are also wondering about (now, it also made Molly want to adopt every child in China that has a special need). Maybe we will share more about this conversation at a later date.
Other developments: Laikyn loves to go swimming. We have taken her every day. She ate pizza last night. We took the famous "red couch" photos with the entire group tonight and she sat there and smiled and grinned the whole time. The current count for changing poopy diapers - Mommy 15 & Daddy 0.
You adopt this baby?
Did you know special needs?
Did they not send you a picture first?
And, you still came here to get this baby, why?
Do you have other children?
Do they have any disabilities?
Then why adopt her...why not have your own beautiful girl without problem with mouth?
You know I do not think they will never be able to fix her mouth.
You cannot send her to school in US, can you?
Here in China, she would not go to school.
In China, she would never find husband, never get any land, etc.
Some people from U.S. are crazy.
Believe it or not, we enjoyed this conversation and for actually having the opportunity to answer some of the questions that I am sure many of the people we pass on the street are also wondering about (now, it also made Molly want to adopt every child in China that has a special need). Maybe we will share more about this conversation at a later date.
Other developments: Laikyn loves to go swimming. We have taken her every day. She ate pizza last night. We took the famous "red couch" photos with the entire group tonight and she sat there and smiled and grinned the whole time. The current count for changing poopy diapers - Mommy 15 & Daddy 0.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
September 20th - Truly Blessed
All adoptive families have there last stop in China in Guangzhou (the US Consulate is located here) and many of those families stay at the White Swan Hotel. Now, while in Zhengzhou, we could walk a mile in any direction and pass thousands of people and never see another Westerner (Zhengzhou has over 2 million people in the city limits). People would stop and stare at us until we literally passed out of their line of sight. Here in Guangzhou it is a different story, we have over 50 other families staying at this hotel that are also adopting. There is a form of a bond with these families and you get many of the same conversations: "Where are you from," "Where is your child from," "How many children have you adopted," etc. Each of these families story is unique and each adoptive child is unique and beautiful in there own way. Laikyn is one of the very few children that has stands out from the others due to her open cleft (many children have already had the cleft repaired). But, as I have stated in some other blogs, she stands out in a lot of other ways as well. It seems like everyone we pass or talk to comments about her smiling, giggling or her overall joyful disposition. We thank God that He has brought us to Laikyn and we thank Him for everything that makes her unique and beautiful and that includes her cleft. Yes, she will some day soon have that cleft repaired (God willing), but without that cleft, we probably would have not had the opportunity to ever meet her, let alone take her home as a member of our family. And, along with the cleft, we get to see all of those unique things on the inside...her overflowing curiosity, abundance of joy, how she is so quick with a smile or laugh and, yes, we would have to throw in a little bit of orneriness (she has to have a little bit to keep up with her brothers). Also, after today with her mommy, I would say she may also have some form of an inner desire to shop. I am only kidding, however, Molly has been spending time with Laikyn every day and telling her what a blessing she is to us and she has also been reading her Psalm 139. We know that God did knit her together in her mother's womb. She has been fearfully and wonderfully made and we get to see His handiwork every day as we interact with her. We have been truly blessed.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
More Firsts
We left Zhengzhou yesterday and flew to Guangzhou. Laikyn did well on the flight. She did not cry at all, but she also did not sleep (she is very inquisitive or squirmy as her mom likes to say). Already looking forward to that 13 hour flight home (can anyone say Benadryl...and I'm talking about me). We arrived at our hotel close to 10:00 last night. Laikyn slept well...we had to wake her at 8:30 this morning to go down to breakfast (another amazing breakfast buffet). At 9:30, we headed over to get her physical exam. Again, she did extremely well (especially considering the heat here). She is a tiny thing. She weighs in around 20 pounds and is currently wearing size 12 month clothing even though she is almost 16 months old (however, she has worn some 18 month outfits). It is going to be about 97 degrees today and is very humid. The hotel has two swimming pools (sorry, boys, I know you would want to be here to swim in them) and Laikyn put her feet in this afternoon.
Molly is a little homesick and she wants to go on every tour available to help the time go by faster. I on the other hand would rather stay at the hotel and relax. Tomorrow's tour includes the "Old Chen House" and the "Provinicial Arts and Crafts Shopping Center." Monday is a trip to the Pearl Market (you can get pearls at about 25% of what they cost in the states). Tuesday is the Pearl River Cruise and Thursday is a trip to the Guangzhou zoo. We will probably end up doing a couple of them. We just haven't determined which ones yet.
Finally, they have several "optional" group dinners planned. One is a traditional Thai restaurant and another is at a local Chinese restaurant. However, they also have a Subway, Papa Johns and Starbucks within walking distance. I think all of you who know me know what I am leaning to, but we do like to spend time with the group, so we will probably be good sports and go with the others (plain white rice anyone).
Molly is a little homesick and she wants to go on every tour available to help the time go by faster. I on the other hand would rather stay at the hotel and relax. Tomorrow's tour includes the "Old Chen House" and the "Provinicial Arts and Crafts Shopping Center." Monday is a trip to the Pearl Market (you can get pearls at about 25% of what they cost in the states). Tuesday is the Pearl River Cruise and Thursday is a trip to the Guangzhou zoo. We will probably end up doing a couple of them. We just haven't determined which ones yet.
Finally, they have several "optional" group dinners planned. One is a traditional Thai restaurant and another is at a local Chinese restaurant. However, they also have a Subway, Papa Johns and Starbucks within walking distance. I think all of you who know me know what I am leaning to, but we do like to spend time with the group, so we will probably be good sports and go with the others (plain white rice anyone).
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Daddy's Girl
Well, it has officially happened! Laikyn is already a daddy's girl. I didn't even get 3 whole days before it happened. She loves being near him. She snuggled up next to him for her bottle today. She cries when he walks away and she giggles for him all the time. (maybe she thinks he's funny looking...hmmm) He kisses on her all the time. (I am starting to get a bit jealous) The only thing he hasn't had the privilege of doing is changing one of her 6 poop diapers!!!!! She tries to do things that he does too. We bought her a stroller at Walmart and she loves going for rides. Of course it has been a bit rainy here, so we have been inside a lot. It is amazing to watch more and more of her personality (and attitude) come out everyday. She has an incredible appetite. We have been exposing her to many American foods, none of which she doesn't like (except yogurt and ice cream). I think we may have to do something about that!!!
We were considering taking her swimming today until we witnessed the "hocker" at the pool. It is custom here to "cleanse" yourself by letting it out wherever you are. So, I think we will hold off on the pool for now. We should be getting Laikyn's passport tomorrow before flying out for Guanghou. (her first plane ride........should be interesting. I think if we have plenty of food, we're ok)
Meanwhile the boys back home are doing well. They went out with grandma to build-a-bear and made their sister a cute little bear. She's wearing "frilly" socks, pink skechers, a jean skirt, and an Ohio State shirt. (what else would we expect!)
We were considering taking her swimming today until we witnessed the "hocker" at the pool. It is custom here to "cleanse" yourself by letting it out wherever you are. So, I think we will hold off on the pool for now. We should be getting Laikyn's passport tomorrow before flying out for Guanghou. (her first plane ride........should be interesting. I think if we have plenty of food, we're ok)
Meanwhile the boys back home are doing well. They went out with grandma to build-a-bear and made their sister a cute little bear. She's wearing "frilly" socks, pink skechers, a jean skirt, and an Ohio State shirt. (what else would we expect!)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
September 15th - Making it Official
We spent the morning at the registration office and notary office making the adoption official. We spent the afternoon shopping (perfect for mommy and daughter, not so much so for daddy). We could tell so many stories about our trips to the Lotus Center, Wal-Mart & Pizza Hut...let's just say all of them were very interesting.
We will spend three more days here in Zhengzhou. They are free days for the most part for us (paperwork processing for our CCAI reps). We are planning to go to a local park, maybe more shopping and maybe Laikyn's first swimming experience. They have a huge swimming pool here at the hotel. Speaking of the hotel, it is very nice and the breakfast buffet dwarfs any buffet I have ever been to in the States. There are very few westerners in Zhengzhou and very few people that speak any English. We could have been our own tourist attraction yesterday while shopping. White couples (several of the men over 6' tall) adopting Chinese babies with special needs. We fly to Guangzhou on Friday, which is more western (and has a ton of shopping). We will spend seven days there before getting Laikyn's Visa and heading home.
Laikyn is still doing great. She is sleeping well (about 10-11 hours/night without making a sound) and still smiles and giggles a lot. She seems very content and has a good appetite. A couple of small concerns: she has developed a little cough and has not had a "poopy" diaper in the 48 hours since we got her (whoops, you can stike that last concern. I guess that there is a lot that can happen when Daddy takes so long to type).
Miss you all.
We will spend three more days here in Zhengzhou. They are free days for the most part for us (paperwork processing for our CCAI reps). We are planning to go to a local park, maybe more shopping and maybe Laikyn's first swimming experience. They have a huge swimming pool here at the hotel. Speaking of the hotel, it is very nice and the breakfast buffet dwarfs any buffet I have ever been to in the States. There are very few westerners in Zhengzhou and very few people that speak any English. We could have been our own tourist attraction yesterday while shopping. White couples (several of the men over 6' tall) adopting Chinese babies with special needs. We fly to Guangzhou on Friday, which is more western (and has a ton of shopping). We will spend seven days there before getting Laikyn's Visa and heading home.
Laikyn is still doing great. She is sleeping well (about 10-11 hours/night without making a sound) and still smiles and giggles a lot. She seems very content and has a good appetite. A couple of small concerns: she has developed a little cough and has not had a "poopy" diaper in the 48 hours since we got her (whoops, you can stike that last concern. I guess that there is a lot that can happen when Daddy takes so long to type).
Miss you all.
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